


Golden Balls

by groolover



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:46:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 19,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27833239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/groolover/pseuds/groolover
Summary: Harry is just about managing to meet all the demands on his time, but nobody seems to realise how exhausted he is. Maybe an unexpected reunion will change things.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 128
Kudos: 104
Collections: 25 Days of Draco and Harry 2020





	1. Barcelona

**Author's Note:**

> **Chapter summary** : Harry's having an exhausting day. 
> 
> Prompt 1: Snowy tree-lined path
> 
> (This story is being written as part of [Slythindor100](http://slythindor100.livejournal.com)'s "25 days of Draco and Harry" challenge for 2020, which involves writing a minimum of 100 words on each of the first 25 days of December, based on a picture prompt posted daily. Some of you will be able to guess the reason for the title - if not, it will become apparent! This story is not related to any of my previous ones - let's see if I can finish it.)
> 
> Please note that the explicit rating is only earned at the _very_ end... don't expect a lot of smut!

On a chilly Tuesday afternoon in December, Harry Potter was walking slowly through a snow-covered park. To a distant observer he would have appeared lost in thought, but in fact he was eating a large (and very unhealthy) tub of churros and struggling to stay awake. He had only left Hogwarts an hour beforehand and would be back there late that night, but he'd had very little sleep the night before; on top of his usual ridiculous workload, he'd also had to make sure he'd prepared sufficient work and left sufficiently thorough instructions for all his students in the classes he was missing. (To be fair, Headteacher McGonagall had not specifically asked him to do so, but they both knew that it would have to be done.) 

In an effort not to think about how many hours it would be before he could be in bed asleep, he gazed around him as he walked. If he hadn't known he was in Barcelona, he mused, he would never have guessed - this park could easily have been anywhere in the world and, although he hadn't been to Barcelona before, he didn't think they got a lot of snow there. It was pretty, though, he thought. 

By the time he'd reached the park exit, his churros were finished and he did a quick wandless cleaning charm to make his fingers less sticky. He'd been irritated to find that the Apparition point was so far from the gate, but the churros stand that he'd passed had definitely improved his mood. 

" _Jardins de Bacardi_ ," he muttered to himself, spotting a sign as he left the park. "Huh. Doesn't sound very Spanish! Or even Catalan." But then his attention was drawn to the huge stadium across the road, and he approached it carefully, avoiding the surprisingly heavy traffic.

"Camp Nou, here we come," he said. "May as well get this over with."


	2. Camp Nou Stadium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry meets an old school friend (no, not the one you're thinking... at least, not yet!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 2: An open fireplace

The stadium was so big that for a moment Harry thought it might take him a while to find the way in, but then he spotted a helpful sign which said "ENTRADA"; he followed the arrow to the left and eventually found the main gate, protected by a heavy barred gate and several security guards. His heart sank a little, but he gritted his teeth and approached them. 

"Por favor, donde es la..." He realised he had no idea how to say 'press conference' but, just as he was trying to think up a way to mime it, a woman dressed in the Barcelona club colours of blue and red appeared from behind the gate and beamed at him. 

"Ah, Señor Potter!" she exclaimed. "Buenas tardes y bienvenido! Mucho gusto! We are honoured!" She grabbed Harry's hand and shook it; Harry, feeling suddenly much more at ease now he knew that his very rudimentary Spanish might not be needed, smiled at her and allowed himself to be led into the reception area of the stadium and then along a corridor lined with pictures of footballers, most of whom looked vaguely familiar to Harry, although he couldn't remember any of their names. 

The Barcelona staff member talked nonstop as they walked, switching frequently between Spanish and English; Harry's contribution to the conversation consisted entirely of hums and polite exclamations. Nevertheless, he was relieved when she led him into an office in which Oliver Wood was waiting for them.

"Alright, Harry?" he said, grinning and shaking his hand. "Gracias, Lourdes, yo... erm, I've got it from here." The woman nodded and left.

"Hi, Oliver," said Harry. "How's it going? Things running on schedule?"

"I'm hurt, Harry, deeply hurt," Oliver said, with a dramatic hand on his chest. "No small talk? Straight to business?"

"Sorry. Maybe for a minute afterwards? I'm just really tired and I've got lots of work to do when I get back, so I'd be happy if this was over quickly."

Oliver sighed sympathetically. "I know. I'm so sorry they dragged you into this again, especially after it overran so much in Sydney the other week. I did try to persuade them to ask someone else, but they had their hearts set on you, and it seems no-one else will do. It's not Kingsley's fault, by the way. He tried too, but the rest of them gave him so much grief that he gave in."

"Enjoying being head of Magical Games and Sports, are you?" asked Harry wryly.

Oliver winced. "Sometimes," he said. "But I have to admit it's not like I thought it would be. Far too political for my liking. I'm torn between wanting to quit and realising that if I do it'll never get any better, and I might actually be able to make a difference if I stick with it. It's 50/50 right now."

"Sorry to hear that," said Harry honestly. "If there's anything I can do to help, you know I will."

Oliver laughed. "Oh, Harry, you are too good," he said. "That's exactly how you ended up here today! But there _is_ a slight change to the format this time. They've decided that there's a whole category of voters that they're not paying enough attention to, so there's an additional speaker today, and he'll go right before you. Just thought I'd better warn you first, because it's probably a few years since you've seen him, and I'm not sure how you'll feel about it."

Harry raised his eyebrows, but then shrugged and followed Oliver out of the office and into a nearby room filled with leather armchairs and old-looking wooden tables. An open fire was roaring away cheerfully in the fireplace, and in an armchair next to the fire was....

"Draco Malfoy?!?"


	3. By the FIreplace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry finds out why Draco is there, although it may not yet be clear to the rest of us!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 3: Harrods department store

The man in question, who had been staring into the flames, looked up at Harry's exclamation. He nodded politely, but Harry couldn't tell from his expressionless face whether or not he was pleased to see him... although the fact that there was no outright hostility visible was a good sign, he thought.

"Hello, Potter," he said, standing up and holding out his hand. "It's been a while."

Harry paused for a second before shaking hands, wondering whether they were both thinking of the first time they'd met. He had a feeling they were. "It has," he agreed, taking Malfoy's hand and thinking it felt surprisingly warm. ("Idiot," he immediately said to himself. "He's just been sitting in front of a bloody log fire! Of course his hands are warm!") "But please just call me Harry."

"Draco. And I'm glad you're here. They'd told me you would be, obviously, and they showed me the Pensieve memory of what you said in Sydney, so I'd have some idea."

Harry furrowed his brow. "You're doing better than me, then, because I'm very confused. Not that I have any objection to you being here, but I don't understand why?"

Oliver looked slightly embarrassed. "That's entirely my fault," he said. "I... erm, tried to think how best to tell you, but in the end I decided it'd be easier to just wait till you met."

"You chickened out, you mean," commented Draco, and Harry glanced at him in surprise; Draco tilted his head in acknowledgement. "You knew that we didn't get on very well with each other when we were at school, and you thought that would still be the case. I must admit that I do find it interesting that you found it acceptable to tell me that Harry would be here, but not vice versa, though. I'm guessing that's because I have no choice about being here and Harry does? ... And you can't risk alienating him, of course."

Oliver had the grace to blush. "You're very perceptive," he said. "I apologise. You're quite right, I should have treated you both the same way. I do really appreciate you being here - _both_ of you - even though, as you say, Draco, you have no choice."

"I'm glad we're all getting along so wonderfully, but I would still like a bit more explanation," said Harry wryly. "And make it quick, please - I do _not_ want this to start late and overrun."

"Sorry, Harry," said Oliver. "Draco is here at the invitation of the Ministry of Magic."

Draco laughed. " _Invitation_ is an interesting way of putting it," he said. "What Oliver here is reluctant to tell you, Harry, is that I am still on probation, and one of the conditions of that probation is that if the Ministry ask me to do something within reason, I can't refuse. Amusingly, 'within reason' has never been fully defined, but I suppose that a trip to Spain to speak at a press conference isn't the worst thing they could have asked."

"How can you still be on probation?!? The war ended years ago!"

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Oliver held up his hand. "I'm sure Draco will answer that later, but I'm as keen for this to start on time as you are. So, briefly, the Ministry realised after the Sydney event that there's a large category of voters that they need to engage, particularly as many of them are very well off. The feeling is that they will pay more attention to Draco than to you."

"Death Eaters and purebloods, he means, Harry," Draco chimed in, with a grimace. "And I know exactly what you're thinking, I promise you, and I'll be very happy to discuss it afterwards. There's a buffet, right, Oliver? Maybe we can talk then."

"Yes, there's a buffet," said Oliver, "but can we get moving now, please? Neither of you are speaking until the end, so it'll be at least half an hour till then, but I need to get you to your places."

"Fine," said Harry, and gestured to Draco to go through the door ahead of him as they followed Oliver, who set off at quite a lick.

"I'm really sorry, though," he said to Draco quietly after they were in their seats at the front of the packed hall. "I don't know if I'll be able to stay for the buffet. I really need to get back. But if we don't get a chance to talk properly today, I'll owl you tomorrow... is that OK?"

Draco looked at him for a moment. "What have you eaten today?" he asked, eventually. 

Harry thought about it. "Erm... since breakfast, let's see... no, wait. I missed breakfast. I was sorting stuff out for while I was gone. So I've had... erm, a tub of churros from a stand in the park, half an hour ago."

Draco frowned. "Well, whatever it is you've got to get back for, I guarantee you will do it better if you've had something proper to eat. So staying for the buffet will actually save you time overall. In fact, I'm afraid I will have to insist. If we meet for the first time in years and immediately afterwards you pass out due to starvation, we both know who's going to get blamed, don't we?"

Harry couldn't help smiling. "I suppose you're right," he admitted. "OK, I'll stay for some food. But I really do have to be quick. And maybe we can meet again soon anyway, to catch up?"

"I'd actually like that," said Draco. "In the meantime, eat these. We don't want you collapsing in front of all these people, do we?" He reached into his pocket and produced an apple and a bag of crisps.

Harry hesitated, but then nodded. "Thank you," he said. "Are you sure, though? Why do you have food in your pocket, anyway?" 

"It's the remains of my lunch," Draco told him. "I popped into Harrods to grab some supplies before I got the Portkey, but I overdid it a bit. Just as well, because I didn't realise there was going to be a buffet until I got here, and I definitely want to have room for Spanish food."

"Harrods, eh?" commented Harry, accepting the food. "Still a posh git, I see. Lunch from _Harrods_ , honestly."

"It's starting. Shush," said Draco, but Harry was sure he could see a slight blush on his face.


	4. At the top table

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco needs Harry's support.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 4: String of fairy lights

Some time later, Harry opened his eyes to realise that he'd fallen asleep and Draco was tapping his hand lightly. "What? What's.... oh. Never mind, I remember," mumbled Harry. "Sorry. Thanks for waking me. Where are we up to?"

"It's almost my turn," Draco told him quietly. "I thought I'd better wake you partly so you have time to get your wits back before you have to give the closing speech, but also partly because I'd be grateful if you could listen to _my_ speech and see if you think it's OK. I've never done anything like this before, but I know you have. ... Good move sleeping through the rest of it, by the way. It was _very_ tedious. I was struggling to stay awake myself."

"What have they asked you to say?" asked Harry.

"Much the same as you, I imagine. Five minutes on 'please vote for England to be the host country for the next Quidditch World Cup', except with a bit more subtext of 'this is why it's in your best interest to support us, even if you are a bad guy'. 

"Ouch. Sounds tricky. Have you worked out what you're going to say?"

Draco looked at him as if he'd gone mad. "Well, I'm due to stand up in front of all these people in about thirty seconds to say it... what do you think? Of course I have! I'm just not sure whether it's any good."

Harry considered this. "You know what? I don't think that matters as much as you might think. At least not today. I know everyone at this table, because they were all on the platform in Sydney the other week, and I think they were all at the previous one as well. But you're new to this, and that makes you automatically interesting. Look at the audience - most of them aren't listening to Kingsley at all. That guy on the front row is definitely staring at the fairy lights, isn't he?"

"To be fair, there _are_ a lot of fairy lights in this room," Draco said. "It's actually quite pretty, isn't it?"

"It is. And... look, it may well be sleep deprivation making me say this, but _you're_ looking quite pretty too. That black suit really suits you. Normally I'd say it was too sombre, but the contrast between you and the fairy lights means you look extra stunning. I guarantee that when you step up to the mic everyone will be looking at you. And my advice then would be to speak from the heart. Don't look at your notes - they'll all be gazing at you, so you just need to hold their gaze, and that's the main thing they'll remember from today, I suspect. Then, next time (assuming you get forced to do it again) you'll know what to expect, but also the novelty of you being here will have worn off slightly, so that's what you'll need a good speech - but by then you'll have one."

Draco stared at him. "That's... simultaneously a whole string of the nicest things you've ever said about me, and at the same time really helpful," he said. "I'm not sure which is more surprising! So, thank you very much. I appreciate it."

"You'll be fine," said Harry. "Up you get - looks like it's your turn!"


	5. At the buffet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's in a hurry to get away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 5: "Wake me up when winter's over" cushion
> 
> (Argh, I was going to do an extra-long chapter today but life got in the way so this is very short, sorry! Hopefully a bit longer tomorrow!)

After they'd been at the buffet for fifteen minutes, Harry was starting to fidget. "Look, I'm really going to have to go," he told Draco. "I've got so many things I have to sort out before tomorrow. I'm sorry. I honestly would like to stay and chat. Maybe another time?"

"Of course," Draco said. "I'm impressed you actually stayed this long, after you said you didn't want to be here at all. And I'm pleased to have seen you eat some proper food. All you need to do now is get some proper sleep and you'll look a bit more alive tomorrow."

"Oy!" said Harry, laughing. "You could've told me I looked terrible _before_ I stood in front of all the press photographers!"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, you must know you look amazing in that suit," Draco told him. "You scrub up pretty well. But you do look exhausted. Although it might be less obvious to people who haven't spent years watching you."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Years, huh? Well, this is a topic I must say I'm keen to explore further, but I really need to go. I'll owl you, OK? I promise. Tomorrow."

Draco held out his hand and they shook. "GET SOME SLEEP," he said.

Harry grinned. "I plan to!" he promised. "Just wake me up when winter's over."


	6. Back at Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is finding it hard to concentrate on his work, for more than one reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 6: Nutcracker doll

Two hours later, Harry was at his desk in his staff quarters, gulping down a mug of strong coffee. He had almost finished his lesson plans for the following day, and the temptation to go to sleep immediately and get up early to finish them was very strong. But Harry knew himself well enough to know that in the morning Still-Half-Asleep-Harry would tell himself it'd be fine if he stayed in bed another hour and made up the lesson as he went along. Hence the strong coffee, and he had also put on some music to see if that helped; normally he found it impossible to concentrate with music playing, but he hoped the distraction might help for once. The Spanish Dance from Tchaikovsky's _Nutcracker Suite_ had been played at the end of the press conference in Spain as everyone went into the buffet, and Harry had found himself with an urge to listen to the rest of it, which he had discovered a few years earlier that he loved, after Hermione got tickets to the ballet and persuaded Ron and Harry to accompany her.

Humming along to the Waltz of the Flowers, his mind drifted back to Draco, as it had several times since he'd got home. This music would suit Draco, he decided, and he sat there for several minutes imagining Draco whirling around the dance floor with a mystery partner. As the Draco in his head spun his partner round, Harry was only slightly surprised to see that it was himself.


	7. In the Great Hall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has lunch with the Astronomy Professor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 7: Kreacher

The following lunchtime, Harry was pleased with himself for actually making it to the Great Hall while food was still being served. He sank into the only empty chair at the staff table, on the end next to Padma Patil, and Kreacher, who had been at Hogwarts ever since Harry had sold Grimmauld Place, immediately appeared and started putting plates and cutlery in front of him. Harry nodded at him in thanks.

"Nice to see you, Harry," said Padma, passing Harry the coffee pot. "I can't remember the last time you made it to lunch. What's going on? Is the world ending again?"

"Haha, if it is then I am _not_ getting involved," Harry told her, helping himself to food from most of the dishes within reach. "I almost hope it is. Then I could have a proper rest."

"You need to find a way to do that anyway, you know," she pointed out. "Although you do look slightly healthier than the last time I saw you. Did you have a good day yesterday?"

"In the end, yes, actually I did," Harry admitted. "Don't get me wrong, it was still really long and tiring... and stressful, because I wanted to do a good job. But I met an old... hmm, I was about to say 'friend', but it's a bit more complicated than that. I enjoyed spending time with him, though, and actually he's probably the reason I feel a bit better, because he made me eat properly when I wasn't planning, and he made me realise that sleep needed to be a bit more of a priority than it has been lately."

Padma tilted her head to one side to peer at him. "That sounds... unusual. People aren't usually very good at making you do things like that, I've noticed. Who.... oh, wait, I know. It was Draco Malfoy, wasn't it?"

Harry stared at her. "How the bloody hell did you work that out?!?"

"Oh, please," Padma said, grinning. "Ravenclaw here, but more importantly someone who grew up with you and saw what you were like with him. You weren't friends with him at school, but you always paid attention to him, and everyone knows that you both saved each other's lives during the war. There's no-one else I can think of that you'd describe as "an old friend but it's a bit more complicated". Plus, I've seen even Hermione and Ron try to get you to do sensible things such as eat and sleep, and you've always come up with an excuse, so it figures that the one person you'd listen to would be the one you were obsessed with at school."

Harry took another piece of bread, gobsmacked. "You make some good points," he said eventually. "Remind me why I don't come to lunch more often? I never see you any other time, and I like talking to you. Even when you're not explaining my own mind to me better than I understand it myself."

Padma smiled benevolently. "That would be because you always stay late at the training grounds to answer questions and sort the brooms out, and then you forget that you also need to shower before you can come to lunch, so you usually end up getting food brought to you in your rooms. And I spend most of my time in the Astronomy Tower and I love the views from up there, so I tend to spend most of my time either there or in my rooms. I'm quite happy being alone most of the time, so I make myself come to lunch every day so that I don't become a total recluse."

"Makes sense," Harry said. "But I'm glad you're here, whatever the reason. Actually, I haven't been up to the Astronomy Tower since we were students - I must come and see the view sometime. It _was_ always lovely. But first I need to get through this afternoon's lessons, and then I need to work out what I'm going to say when I owl Draco."

Padma burst out laughing, and Harry threw a bread roll at her.


	8. Hyde Park Corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco has an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 8: Stag Patronus

As the sun set that day, Draco was standing at the window of his penthouse flat near Hyde Park Corner with a cup of coffee, staring at the sky and lost in thought. Ironically, having made such a fuss about Harry getting some sleep, he himself had tossed and turned all night, unable to settle. It was fairly obvious to him that the cause of this insomnia was his encounter with Harry, so he tried not to think about the man, but his mind kept drifting back to that oh-so-familiar face. 

He hadn't seen Harry since his trial just after the war, six years earlier; he'd been embarrassingly grateful that Harry had spoken up for all three Malfoys (albeit somewhat less firmly for Lucius, who had been spared Azkaban as a result of Harry's intervention but was still on house arrest). Draco had managed to speak briefly to Harry to thank him, and had been surprised and delighted when Harry had given back his hawthorn wand. They'd both spoken in a civil manner; Draco couldn't tell whether Harry still thought of him as an enemy, but there was no sign of it if so. But then Draco and Narcissa had agreed that they would stay at home for a while, partly to keep Lucius company and partly to lie low until the dust of the war settled; they were both well aware of the reception they were likely to get in Diagon Alley, even though they'd been found not guilty.

After a few months of this, the family had decided that they needed a change and, after requesting and receiving permission for Lucius to change residence, they sold the Manor and moved to a Spanish villa that had been in the family for many years. Draco had a set of rooms there, but he spent most of his time living at his current Hyde Park Corner flat, which not only had great views but was also very convenient for his job.

Thinking of his job, he realised that Harry probably wouldn't know what he'd been doing for the past few years; although they'd talked at the press conference, it was mainly small talk about the food and the other people in the room. Draco had been a bit hesitant to bring up the past (even the more recent past, which was relatively pleasant) and he was unsure whether Harry was too. They certainly hadn't talked about Harry's job either; Draco was only aware that he was the Hogwarts flying instructor because Oliver Wood had told him.

At that moment, there was a bright flash behind him, and Draco turned to see a streak of light flying into the room, which then resolved itself into a bright silver stag. It stopped right in front of Draco and said, in Harry's voice, "Listen, I know I promised to owl you, but I've been trying to write a letter to you for the last hour and I keep writing gibberish and throwing the paper away. I'm not even sure what I want to say, which is probably the reason for the gibberish, but I do know that I enjoyed spending time with you yesterday and I'd like to see you again. Erm... I don't suppose you're free right now? Because if so you could, erm, come here? If you'd be comfortable? Or if not I could come to you. Or anywhere really! Erm, that sounds pathetically desperate, doesn't it? I promise I'm not _that_ desperate for company. But I would really like to see you. So, erm, tell me if you don't want to, and I won't bother you again. Or if you're not free now but you'd like to fix a time, just tell me when. But if you want to come now, that'd be great. Are you on the Floo Network? Just say 'Harry Potter's quarters, Hogwarts' and you'll find me. I've unlocked my fireplace for you. Or if you don't do Floo, send a message with my friend here."

The silver stag stopped speaking and looked expectantly at Draco, whose grin had been growing through this speech. He laughed. "Please tell him that Floo is fine and I'll be there in five minutes," he told it, and it dissolved into the air.


	9. In the Training Grounds Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco visits Harry, and there is a surprising amount of conversation about kettles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 9: Snowy window with candles

When Draco stepped out of Harry's fireplace a few minutes later, he was surprised to find that the room was empty. He was even more surprised to find his shoulders relaxing, having not realised how tense he was. "Get it together, Draco," he muttered to himself. "He invited you, remember?"

He stepped over to the window to see what the view was like. It had just started to snow outside, and the sky was already quite dark, although the very tip of the sun was still just poking above the horizon over to the far left. Draco deduced from this that the window faced north, and belatedly realised that of course Harry's rooms were in the Training Grounds Tower. Peering down, he now noticed the Training Grounds, with the Quidditch pitch in the distance to one side and Hagrid's cottage just visible to the other. 

"You're here!" said Harry's voice right behind him; Harry was polite enough not to mention the tiny squeak emitted by Draco as he spun round. 

"Well, you did say _right now_ , and I have a distinct memory of telling your Patronus that I'd be here in five minutes, more than five minutes ago," Draco pointed out.

Harry looked sheepish. "True, but I guess I didn't really believe you'd actually come until I saw you," he admitted. "Sorry I wasn't here to greet you. I was just putting the kettle on. D'you want a coffee?"

"That would be lovely, thank you," said Draco. "But why don't you just summon a house-elf? I do know about Granger's campaign when we were at school, but surely you must have realised by now that the house-elves like their jobs here?"

"I do, don't worry," said Harry, gesturing for Draco to sit on the sofa with him. "And I do summon them quite often. But I drink a lot of coffee, and sometimes I'm just not in the mood to interact with anybody, human or house-elf, so I keep a kettle and a few other things up here."

"You know what I'm going to ask next, don't you?" said Draco, sitting next to Harry, who nodded. "How on earth did you get an electric kettle to work inside Hogwarts?"

"Maybe I meant one of those weird kettles that the Americans use, that they heat on top of a stove," Harry suggested, his eyes twinkling. "They don't need electricity."

"Oh, please. Everyone knows you grew up in a Muggle household. And every British Muggle household has an electric kettle. I don't believe for a second that you've got a kettle that doesn't have a plug."

"Leaving aside for the moment the fact that I'm amazed you know that... you're quite correct," said Harry. "And you can probably also guess how it works. Hermione sorted it out, of course. She and I were moaning to each other one day a few years ago about electrical things we missed having around, and she decided it was a problem she needed to solve, and she did."

"Well, I have to say I'm impressed," said Draco. "I'm very keen to see it in operation, please. And then maybe after you've made coffee we can sit and have a proper chat? I'm sure you must be wondering what I've been up to, and although I have a vague idea what _you've_ been doing for the last six years, I'd like to know why you appear to be allowing the Ministry to make you ill."


	10. At the coffee table

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out what Draco has been doing for the past six years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 10: A robin

Harry looked slightly puzzled, but nodded. "I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that, but I'm happy to discuss it," he said. "I'm much more interested in what you've been doing, though. Tell me, while I make the coffee. How do you take it, by the way?"

"Fairly strong, with milk but no sugar, please," Draco told him. "Thank you. D'you need any help?"

"With the coffee? No," said Harry, switching the kettle back on. "With the rest of my life? Almost certainly. But let's start with you. I haven't seen you since... well, since your trial, so I assume you've been out of the country?" 

"Well, that's where you're wrong," said Draco. "I mean, I _have_ been out of the country quite a few times, because my parents live in Spain now, and I visit them occasionally. But I live in London. I just don't go out in the wizarding world."

Harry stared at him. "But... you do go out _somewhere_ , I hope? You're not on your own all the time?"

"I'm on my own a lot of the time, I suppose," said Draco. "But it's not too bad. I have discovered the internet, and there is lots to entertain me there. And I do chat to a few people online."

"Hmmm. Well, OK. It sounds pretty lonely to me, but maybe you're better at keeping your own company than I am?"

"Maybe. I'm used to it, though. Possibly _too_ used to it - when I spend any amount of time in the company of other people, they invariably end up irritating me for the tiniest of reasons. Anyway, you said yourself that you're sometimes not in the mood to interact with anyone. I just have that mood most of the time."

"I hope you're not in that mood right now, though? said Harry worriedly. "You'd tell me if I was irritating you, wouldn't you?"

Draco laughed. "You know what, I probably would," he said. "Which is quite an honour, actually. Usually when it happens I just make an excuse and leave."

"Well, I will accept the honour," said Harry, bowing with a grin. "But I'm still pretty curious. I can understand why you avoid the wizarding world - I presume it's for the obvious reason?" Draco nodded with a wince.

"Well, I'd like to say that things would be better if you tried it now, but sadly I'm not entirely sure it would," Harry went on. "There are an awful lot of idiots around. But maybe I can help you test it out one day? I feel a bit of a showoff saying this, but it might be better if you were with me?"

"Oh, we both know it'd be better if I was with you, but I'd still have to try it on my own before I could be sure it was safe," said Draco. "Thank you for the thought, though. And now you may marvel as I avoid an awkward topic by answering your other question! I'm a composer. That's what I do for a living. I write music, partly for my own pleasure but mainly for money, which means that I can't always write the type of music I'd choose to. The best fees come from film and TV soundtracks, so I do lots of those."

"Ooh, how interesting," Harry said, handing Draco a mug of coffee and sitting down with his own. "I didn't know you were musical at all! Anything I'll have heard of?"

"Probably not, but I've only recently started making a profit out of it. It's been mainly fairly low-budget indie stuff, so it doesn't pay very well, but they seem to like what I do, so I've had lots of work from recommendations. I'm hoping that eventually it'll lead to bigger things."

"What are you working on at the moment? Is there anything?"

"Actually there is! I've been commissioned to create the soundtrack for a Christmas animated short - so not just write the music, but also perform it. That means it's just me and my piano rather than a full orchestra, but they seem happy with that, and I'm enjoying it. Today I've been working on a scene where the main character goes for a walk and sees a robin, and that makes her think of her father because it was his favourite bird."

"Sounds lovely," Harry said. "So, you have a piano in your house? I wish we were there instead of here, so you could play it to me."

"Flat, not house. And, maybe another time," Draco promised. "Right now, it's your turn to talk about something awkward that we both know you're avoiding."


	11. By the window

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry doesn't understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 11: Snowy clock tower

Harry wrinkled his brow. "Draco, I honestly have no clue what you're talking about," he said. "But I have a feeling that this is going to be one of those things that everyone else has noticed except me, isn't it?"

Draco shook his head slightly. "Maybe, but if so then they're not helping you by not mentioning it," he said. "Fine, I'll be as blunt as I can. If I understand correctly, the Ministry asked you to be its poster boy and main spokesperson for their bid to get the Quidditch World Cup played in England next year, didn't they?" Harry nodded, and Draco continued: "And obviously you agreed. But since they asked you, where have you travelled as part of the bid?"

Harry felt bewildered as to where Draco might be going with this, but tried to remember. "Erm... well, obviously you know about Barcelona, and before that it was Sydney," he said. "And a few days before Sydney we were in Chicago.... oh, and Johannesburg before that. And Rio - you probably heard about that one because of the protests - and of course it all started in Beijing."

Draco frowned. "It's worse than I thought," he said. "When were you in Beijing? About a month ago, right?" 

Harry thought about it. "It was exactly a month ago today, actually," he said, realising.

"Right," said Draco. "So in the past month you've been to six continents - every continent except Antartica, in fact. Tell me, have you been on holiday for the last month, or have you continued doing your job?"

"I can't take time off to go gallivanting around the world!" Harry protested. "That would be very unprofessional. This week was the first time I missed any of my lessons, and that was only because the press conference was during the day. But I made sure everything was prepared for the people who covered the lessons that afternoon."

Draco gestured towards the smaller of the two windows in the room, through which could be seen a snow-covered building in the distance. "You see that clock tower over there? Do you somehow think that the fact you can see it from you window gives you some sort of special power over time? Or... wait, you haven't been using a Time-Turner, have you? I thought they were all destroyed."

"They were," Harry said. "And no, I haven't been using one. But I'm still not sure what you're getting at. Why are you looking so furious?"


	12. In the past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old injuries are discussed, and Harry finally realises what Draco is worried about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 12: Roast chestnut vendor
> 
> Many thanks to [](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MajaLi)**MajaLi** for the suggestion about the potions professor!

Draco stared at Harry, trying to decide whether or not he was serious. After a few moments he realised that Harry was actually clueless. 

"This actually makes sense now," he said, shaking his head. "I used to think you seemed a bit dim when we were at school, but after quite a long time I realised that you were actually very intelligent, you were just not always great at noticing things."

"Oy!" protested Harry, followed by "... actually, that's fair. Hermione has accused me of that on more than one occasion. What haven't I noticed now, though? Or, wait... obviously I do want to know that, but first I want to know when you, erm, changed your mind about me." 

"You can probably guess," Draco told him. 

"Ah. Sixth year, then?"

"Sixth year," agreed Draco. "We spent an unholy amount of time watching each other than year, didn't we? I.... no, never mind." 

Harry raised his eyebrows. "What were you about to say? I'll wonder all night if you don't tell me."

Draco squirmed a little internally, but sighed and said "I was going to say _and I've got the scars to prove it_ , but then I realised that you'd probably get upset. Oh, bloody hell, now you are, aren't you?"

Harry was indeed looking aghast. "You've still got the scars?!? But I thought... Snape said..."

"He said that dittany may help to avoid scarring. And it did, to a large extent. Just not completely, hence my ill-advised comment, which I see I was right to censor. Honestly, Harry, the scars are barely visible. You can't even really see them unless you're actually looking for them. They don't bother me at all, and I don't hold a grudge against you for them. I can understand why you used that curse, and I'd forgiven you long before you saved us all. That's why I couldn't give you up at the Manor when Fenrir Greyback brought you in. But you thanked me for that after my trial. And even if you hadn't, you've done far more for me than I've ever done for you, so my barely-visible scars are _not_ an issue. Do you want me to show them to you, nevertheless, to set your mind at rest?"

"Erm, yes, please, I think that would help... but later! Not right now!" 

Draco stopped unbuttoning his shirt and looked questioningly at Harry, who appeared to be blushing for some reason. "Thank you for the speech," he said quietly. "I think that might be the most I've ever heard you say in one go."

"The strong silent type, that's me," agreed Draco, and to his relief Harry laughed.

"Of course you are," he said. "Never in doubt. I will of course be polite and not mention the time you got bitten by a hippogriff and screamed so loudly I had a headache afterwards."

Draco grinned. "Just as well you didn't mention that, or I would've had to leave in a huff," he said. "Now, can we please get back to the original topic? Let me sum up: the Ministry are taking advantage of your good nature by asking you to travel all over the world for the World Cup bid despite you having a very time-consuming job, because they know that you know that no-one other than you will have the same impact, because you're the only Brit that most of the other national Quidditch associations have heard of, so you don't want to say no because you hate the thought of letting people down. How am I doing so far?"

Harry was silent for a couple of minutes, and Draco sipped his coffee, waiting for him to process his thoughts.

"Do you know The Christmas Song?" asked Harry eventually, causing Draco to peer at him in confusion. "You know, _chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose_ ," he sang, in a surprisingly pleasant baritone.

"Of course I know it," said Draco, putting down his empty coffee mug and turning to look more directly at Harry. "I'm a musician these days, remember? And it's a lovely song. I just don't understand the relevance."

"Do you remember the last line?" asked Harry. " _Although it's been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you._ It just popped into my head - well, not the Merry Christmas bit, but the rest of it - because you're absolutely right, but you're not the first person to say something like that to me. Hermione and Ron have both tried several times, but so have all the other Weasleys. And Minerva. Oh, and Padma, of course. And even Seamus, once."

Draco blinked. "Of all the people I expected you to still be in touch with, those two would not be top of the list," he admitted. "How did that come about? Also, sometime you must tell me how you managed to start calling McGonagall Minerva, because I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to do that."

"It feels wrong every time I say it, but she insists, so I just have to grin and bear it," Harry confided. "And Padma and Seamus are both on the staff."

"That's... unexpected," said Draco. "Or actually maybe it isn't. I mean, Padma _was _the Ravenclaw twin, right? And Finnigan... very well, Seamus... turned out to be much more impressive than he seemed in first year. He was in my NEWT class for charms and transfiguration and he was actually pretty good at both. I presume it's one of those that he's teaching?"__

__"No, Flitwick is still going strong, and Minerva insists on still teaching, even though I know people have told her she should get someone to share the load. But she keeps refusing, which is one reason why she can't be _too_ firm when she tries to tell _me_ I'm doing too much."_ _

__"Convenient for you," said Draco, and Harry nodded with a wry smile. "So, what _are_ Seamus and Padma teaching?"_ _

__"Padma is astronomy. Seamus is potions. And all three of us also teach a bit of defence. There isn't currently a full-time defence professor, because, well..."_ _

__".... there is less evidence of the Dark Arts these days, plus the position is cursed so no-one wants it, plus they've got three war heroes who aren't very good at saying no?"_ _

__Harry chuckled. "Something like that," he admitted ruefully. "Although we _have_ repeatedly stated that we're only doing it until a proper professor is hired, and Minerva has promised us that she will continue to search for the right person."_ _

__"Promised, eh? Well, I suppose she is usually trustworthy. Fair enough. OK, Padma in astronomy I can see, but Seamus in potions? That's a bit more of a surprise. I don't think I remember him even doing the NEWT."_ _

__"Oh, he did," Harry assured him. "And he's totally revolutionised the potions curriculum since Slughorn retired, actually. Most of the first year is now Basic Lab Safety... or, as he puts it to the kids, 'all the ways I nearly poisoned and/or exploded myself at your age, and how to not do that'. Sounds boring, I know, but he's really good at making it interesting, and Madam Pomfrey is delighted because she says there are far fewer potions accidents since Seamus took over the job last year. Oh, and also he teaches them all the explosive potions in first year - he figures that they're going to learn them eventually anyway, so why not learn them in conjunction with everything they need to know about lab safety?"_ _

__Draco nodded, impressed. "That makes a lot of sense, actually," he said. "I must commend him when I see him. Actually, now you mention it, I do recall that he was always excellent with pyrotechnic magic, wasn't he?"_ _

__"He was, and he will be chuffed to bits when I tell him what you've just said about him," Harry said. "But, anyway, as I was saying, just about everyone I know has told me that I need to say no to the Ministry. And I think I even know that myself - I'm starting to realise that I can't go on for much longer the way I have been recently. But... well, I don't seem to be able to find a way out of it."_ _

__"Until now," Draco told him. "Because I'm going to help you."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder whether any of you are thinking that the premise of this story feels familiar, but you can't quite put your finger on why? I think now is a good time to explain (and also the title will make a bit more sense!)
> 
> It's all to do with David Beckham. I actually thought of the vague outline of this story ten years ago, and I remember discussing it with [](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Saras_Girl)[ **Saras_Girl**](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Saras_Girl) at the time, but didn't do anything about it at the time. It was prompted by the fact that the English Football Association were bidding to bring the 2018 World Cup to England. The bid was announced in 2007 and officially launched in 2009, and they spent most of 2010 travelling to various places trying to get other countries to like them and vote for them. Typically, they [made a mess of things](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/02/world-cup-2018-england-bid), and in December 2010 Russia was announced as the 2018 host and England's bid was over. 
> 
> However, David Beckham, still the golden boy of English football even though he was coming to the end of his career, was asked to be one of the main ambassadors, and he was at every event, whichever country it was in... but he was still a professional footballer at the time (playing for LA Galaxy) and these events were all during the season, and I don't think he missed a single game, despite often flying halfway across the world and back in between games. And he must also have found time to train, as he wouldn't have been able to play in a professional football match if not. And he also had three young children at the time (they were aged 11, 8 and 5); not only that, but his fourth child was born in July 2011, so you can work out when she was conceived!)
> 
> So I don't know when he slept, or how exhausted and stressed he was, but he had a smile on his face every time he made one of his many speeches that year, and I couldn't stop thinking about how the FA and the Government were taking advantage of his good nature. And at some point it occurred to me that I could imagine the Ministry of Magic doing the same with Harry, and that if they also decided Draco should be wheeled out then that would be interesting. 
> 
> Ten years later, I was trying to think ideas for my advent story, and this old idea popped into my head and wouldn't go away. And I couldn't think of a good title and time was running out, so it's Golden Balls because that was the first one that sprang to mind, even though it's not relevant to this actual story (so far, at least - it was quite a while later that I realised that it could refer to a Snitch!) Golden Balls has been his nickname for a long time (his wife first came up with it!)


	13. Moscow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Russian is being spoken, and progress is being made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 13: Frosty window

A week later, Harry was in a small chapel within Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. The Russian wizard who'd escorted him there had apologised profusely for the lack of heating, saying that although the whole cathedral _was_ theoretically heated, the system was so old that it often malfunctioned; however, he had promised that the central core of the cathedral, where the press conference was to be held shortly, was nice and warm.

In the meantime, Harry paced around the chapel, hugging himself and rubbing his hands together. (He'd done this for several minutes after arriving, before he had a vision of Draco saying "forgot you're a wizard again, eh?" ... and then he'd laughed, as he still did forget this quite often. He'd cast a warming charm on himself once he thought of it, but rubbing his hands had an added psychological effect, so he continued to do that too.) There was only one window in the chapel, and Harry went over to see what the view was like from it; he was disappointed, though, to find that the window was so covered in frost and icicles that he couldn't see anything through it at all. _Oh well,_ he thought to himself, _the cathedral itself is so colourful and unusually-shaped that probably everything nearby is boring in comparison!_

At that moment, the door opened and Draco came in. "Spasibo," he said to his guide. "Ya blagodaren." "Pazhaluysta!" said the guide, and closed the door again as he left.

Harry stared. "You speak Russian?!?" 

"Hardly at all," Draco assured him, smiling. "But I always feel as if it's very bad manners to go anywhere without even _trying_ to speak the language - such arrogance to assume everyone speaks English! - so I always try to learn a few bits."

"I agree," said Harry. "I do too. I think you're better at it than me, though - I recognised _spasibo_ \- that's 'thank you', right? But I don't know what you said after that. And I thought I recognised what the other guy said, but I thought it meant 'please' and that made no sense, so I must have remembered wrong."

"There you go, impressing me again," said Draco. "I honestly didn't expect you to have done that - apart from anything else, we're both well aware that you don't really have time! But you're better than you think you are, because you are quite correct that _pazhaluysta_ means 'please', but it also means 'you're welcome'."

"Ahhh, I see," said Harry. "Actually I think I'd better add that to my list of phrases to learn in new languages. I bet people have said it to me in the past after I've trotted out 'thank you', and I'll have just smiled and nodded, pretending I knew what they meant."

"Well, if you did, at least it was an appropriate response," Draco pointed out. "It's not as if you smiled and nodded when they'd actually just told you that their... that they'd lost their job or something."

"I know you were about to say 'that their parents had died' and thought better of it, but it's fine, honestly," Harry told him. "You don't have to tread on eggshells around me. It's not as if it happened recently."

"Well, these days I think it's always better to avoid possibly upsetting people if I can, but thank you," said Draco. "I've said enough idiotic things in the past that I'm trying not to repeat my mistakes. Anyway, in answer to your second question, the other thing I said was _ya blagodaren_ , which means 'I'm grateful'. So, just an extension of 'thank you', really."

"Right, thank you," said Harry. "Ya blagodaren. Ya blagodaren. Ya blagodaren. How's that?"

"Pretty good, actually. What are you grateful for?"

"Well, you, mainly, at the moment. But I thought I'd try using it in my speech. We're trying to get the Russians to vote for us, after all, and I think they'll like it if we actually try speaking their language, and I doubt anyone from the Ministry will do that, don't you?"

Draco had gone slightly pink. "Can we just go back to 'you're grateful for ME', please? Why on earth would you be?"

Harry smiled. "Why WOULDN'T I be? Since we started talking last week, I feel as if a weight's been lifted off my shoulders. I know we haven't solved all my problems yet, but there are quite a few that I hadn't even realised _were_ problems until you pointed them out, and just talking about stuff to someone who _gets it_ has been a huge help. But seeing you in person today is really good - firecalls aren't quite the same. I'm sorry I haven't had time to come over yet."

"Don't apologise for that - your lack of time is the main thing we're hoping to fix, after all," Draco reassured him. "Now, I know you'd already agreed to today and it would have dropped them right in it if you'd pulled out. But have you had a chance to talk to anyone about future commitments yet?"

"Not so far," admitted Harry. "But I thought I'd start with Oliver - I think he would understand. The trouble is that I don't feel comfortable just pulling out completely, because I have already said I'll be part of the campaign, but if I say I need to renegotiate the terms I suspect Oliver will end up getting pressured to get me to stick to doing everything."

"I know - we've talked about this, remember? Try thinking of it as a collaboration rather than them telling you what to do all the time. We have to make them understand that if things go on the way they have so far, you're going to burn out sooner rather than later, and then they won't have you at all. So it's in their best interests to find a way forward that works for you as well as them."

"See, it makes perfect sense when you say it like that," sighed Harry, "but when I'm talking to anyone official I just always seem to end up agreeing to everything because I'll feel bad if I don't."

"Would... Would it be weird if we talked to him together, in that case?" Draco suggested tentatively. "And then maybe if you start offering your firstborn to them, I can rein you in a bit?"

Harry grinned. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind? That'd be great!" he said. "Particularly as, the way things are at the moment, there's zero chance of me ever _having_ a firstborn."

"It's a deal," said Draco, nodding. "Project Firstborn, I'm calling this in my head. Just so you know." 

The door opened and the guide beckoned them towards him. "But first we have some Russians to dazzle," said Draco. "Poshli!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Poshli!" = "Let's go!"


	14. Red Square

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touristy stuff in Moscow!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reindeer shorts

"This is impressive, isn't it?" said Harry a few hours later, as he and Draco strolled across Red Square in the early evening. "I was right, though - St Basil's is the most impressive bit."

"Depends what you mean by impressive, I suppose," said Draco. "It's certainly the most colourful. And did you know that it's supposed to be shaped like a bonfire rising into the sky?" 

They stopped to stare at it again, and Harry tilted his head to one side. "I _think_ I can see what you mean," he said after a moment. "I've never seen a bonfire with quite that many colours, though."

"It's an amazing sight, but I think it looks out of place in this square," said Draco. "The cathedral is really impressive on its own, but I think the square would actually be more impressive with it. I mean, that bit over there is the Kremlin, and that's got some unusually shiny bits, but it somehow fits in. And that brick thing is Lenin's tomb."

"And that bit over there? It's huge. Must be something important?"

"I believe it's a shopping mall, actually," Draco told him.

Harry laughed. "You''re joking, right?"

"Not at all. It think it's called GUM. Want to go and have a look?"

Harry laughed again and nodded, and they ambled across to the east side of the square. There was a comfortable silence between them, until Draco said, "So, how d'you think that went? With Oliver?"

"He looked pretty uncomfortable, didn't he?" said Harry. "And I noticed that he didn't promise anything. But he did listen, and I felt as if I said what I wanted to say, and he seemed to accept that there is a problem. So, thank you for that, because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have said anything without your encouragement."

"It's my pleasure," Draco assured him. "But I'll feel better when some actual tangible progress has been made. I wasn't entirely happy with how things were left; there was no definite outcome or action points, he just said to leave it with him."

"Well, it wasn't a formal meeting, was it? Just an informal chat."

"True, but there's a reason that formal meetings tend to have action points or something similar. Otherwise what's the point of the meeting?"

"Hmm," said Harry. "Well, maybe we can discuss the next step when we get back to England. How long before the portkey?"

"Half an hour. And I'm pleased you agreed to wait for the portkey this time rather than Apparating. It's slower, but I know you hate Apparating, and it can't be good for your stress levels."

"Fair point," said Harry. "I do feel a lot more relaxed than I usually am at this point, I must admit."

"Look, here's a tourist shop," said Draco. "I have a feeling Oliver Wood would be amused if we were to buy him that pair of reindeer shorts. Shall we?"

Harry laughed and led the way into the shop.


	15. By a different fireplace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A late-night chat with Firewhisky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 15: Flourish and Blotts

Late that night, Harry and Draco were sprawled on the sofa in Draco's flat, sipping Firewhisky. (Well, Harry was sprawled; Draco was sat slightly more elegantly, but by no means upright.) There was a crackling fire lighting the room in bursts of gold and orange, but otherwise the lights were out, and they were staring out at the night sky. They hadn't spoken since getting back from Russia, other than Draco asking if Harry wanted a drink, but the silence was comfortable. 

"I haven't had this for ages," Harry said, swirling the remains of his Firewhisky. "I think I still slightly prefer Butterbeer, in general. But there are moments when something stronger feels necessary, and this is perfect."

"And what is it about this moment that means you need a strong drink, may I ask?" murmured Draco.

Harry felt his cheeks flush and was relieved that Draco probably couldn't tell. "Oh, nothing really, just the whole late-night atmosphere, sitting by the fire and gazing out at the stars. You know? Also, I really like this flat. Thank you for inviting me."

Draco laughed. "Well, thank you for coming! But now I _know_ you're not paying attention," he said. "How many stars can you see, exactly? Because although it's a pretty clear night, the combination of the light pollution from central London street lamps and loss of night vision due to the bright glow from the fire means I can't see anything in the sky other than a grey blanket."

"Fair point, well made," admitted Harry. "It's nice, though, is all I meant. Just sitting here relaxing. I can't remember the last time I did this. I mean, I suppose I do sometimes when I'm with Ron and Hermione. But they talk more than you. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with them, and I'm very comfortable there, but sometimes a shared silence is also nice, and I don't think I currently know anyone else who'd give me that."

"In that case, it is my pleasure," Draco assured him. "So... I know they're still together, but are they happy? I do hope so."

"Blissfully. It'd be quite sickening if it wasn't so adorable. You can see for yourself - I'm definitely going to want them to meet you at some point."

"To see how the evil Death Eater isn't quite so evil any more?" Draco laughed as he said this, but Harry was sure could feel his leg tense up from where their knees were touching.

"You do know they haven't thought of you like that in years, don't you?" said Harry, putting his glass down and turning to face Draco in the flickering light. 

"I'm sure they haven't thought of me one way or the other in years," said Draco, not looking at him. "And it's probably just as well. They'll probably never forgive me for what I did."

"You only think that because you don't know them very well," said Harry. He took Draco's glass from him and put it on the coffee table, taking both of Draco's hands in his and turning him towards him; Draco didn't look up, but also didn't resist, so Harry felt slightly encouraged. "I can tell you for a fact that they definitely _did_ forgive you, years ago. Because we had a big row about it when your name came up in conversation and they found out that _I_ didn't hold a grudge against you. And after I'd explained why I don't blame you for anything you did during the war, and then explained it again several times until they started actually listening to me rather than shouting, eventually they agreed with me."

Draco did lift his head at this, and Harry tried not to flinch at the haunted look on his face, but squeezed his hands supportively. "Bloody hell," said Draco eventually, "I... don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Harry told him. "But when you want to, I'm here to listen. And I promise I am going to take you to meet them as soon as I can, so you can see for yourself. In the meantime, I have a question. Sorry, I'm just being nosy, but... you know you said you knew they were still together? I got the impression that you'd been avoiding the wizarding world and not following the news... so how did you know that?"

"Um... I didn't, until a few days ago," said Draco. "But, just to be clear, I do follow the Muggle news. It's just the wizarding world I didn't want to know about. I figured that if anything was important enough, someone would tell me. My parents do, occasionally - they still get the _Daily Prophet_ , but it's very rare that they pass on anything they've read in it. But after I saw you in Barcelona I found I was curious about what was going on, and then when I was ordering some books for owl delivery from Flourish and Blotts I noticed that they sell _Prophet_ compilation packages - you get a month's worth of issues at a time, and you can either read them all or use a spell to search for keywords you're interested in. So I got the last three months, and I've read them all this week."

"Wow," said Harry. "That's a lot more issues than I've read this _year_. I'm surprised you have any braincells left. So, did you learn anything fascinating, other than that Ron and Hermione are married?"

"Not really, but actually that's just as useful," Draco said. "It's good to know that I'm not missing anything world-shaking. ... There _was_ one interesting thing, though. I would've expected a lot more stories about _you_. But there weren't any, apart from coverage of the World Cup bid. How did you manage that? I mean, I'm presuming that it _is_ your doing... I can't believe they'd just stop writing about you of their own accord. Am I right?"

"You are. And you'll be slightly proud, I think - at least I hope so! That was my condition for agreeing to be at the Ministry's beck and call for the bid. The _Prophet_ is not allowed to publish anything about me other than World Cup bid stuff, unless I give specific written consent. If they do, they have to pay an _insanely_ large fine. There's an actual new law about it, would you believe. All Ron's idea, although it was Hermione who actually got it sorted."

"Impressive," said Draco. "And encouraging. And yes, I _am_ proud of you. So much so that I'm going to throw caution to the wind here: I can't help noticing that you've been holding my hands for several minutes now, and that you've turned me towards you and our faces are very close together. So I can't help wondering whether you were ever planning to kiss me?"


	16. On the sofa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It turns out they're both on the same page.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 16: Table full of food with cookies

Draco looked expectantly at Harry, who blushed and opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again. Then: "Oh, what the hell," muttered Harry, and then his lips were touching Draco's. 

Draco had not been kissed in quite some time and his memory of the experience was vague, but he was very certain that it had not felt as good as this. Harry's lips were very tentative, almost as if they were asking for definite permission; they dotted tiny touches all around Draco's mouth, until Draco murmured "it's OK. Please. I want this." And then Harry's hand was in Draco's hair and his mouth was insistent on Draco's. Draco put his arm around Harry's shoulders and lay back on the sofa, pulling Harry down with him.

Some time later, Harry gave Draco one final peck and drew back. "I'm sorry," he said. "I really don't want to stop, but I have to get back and sort stuff out for tomorrow. But I would very much like to continue this conversation tomorrow, if that's alright with you?"

"That is very much alright with me," Draco assured him, sitting up and taking his hand. "Which I hope should be obvious, given that I can't help feeling that if I hadn't said something you would never have kissed me."

Harry's face was already so flushed that it was hard to tell in the firelight, but Draco was pretty sure he blushed harder. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said. "I'm glad you did. I'd been thinking about it all night but I'm not great at reading people, you know? And we've been getting along so well that I didn't quite dare to risk spoiling it if I'd been misreading the situation."

Draco kissed his nose. "Well, I appreciate the concern, but yes, I definitely want this," he told him. "But you'd better go, because it is taking heroic levels of self-restraint for me not to put my hands all over you right now."

"I always knew you were a hero," said Harry, grinning as he stood up. "Listen, I also meant it when I said I want you to meet Ron and Hermione soon. D'you fancy doing that tomorrow night? I'm supposed to be going round there then anyway. Ron will have cooked, and I think Hermione's going to make her Christmas cookies."

"You're sure they won't mind?"

"I'm sure. But I promise I'll check with them in advance rather than just turning up and surprising them. There'll be plenty of food, anyway. Ron always makes too much."

"I can't quite imagine him cooking," Draco confessed.

"He's really good at it, actually," Harry told him. "Better than me, now, probably. I'm not a big fan of cooking because I was made to do it when I was growing up, so I only cook when I have to. But Ron had never learned to cook because his mum had always just done it, and there was a bit of a row when he moved in with Hermione and she realised he was expecting her to do all the cooking. She's OK at it, but she doesn't love it either. So I didn't witness the actual argument, but the result was that Ron got his mum to teach him to cook, and it turns out he loves it, so he does it all the time now. ... He's terrible at judging quantities, though, so he always makes too much, just to be on the safe side. They both end up taking leftovers to work the next day."

"I was about to ask what they do, but I realise you need to get away," said Draco. "So yes, please, I would like to accompany you if you're sure they won't mind, but on the condition that we don't stay _too_ late. Because I also want to continue _tonight's_ conversation, and for that I'm not going to want an audience."

"It's a date," said Harry, and with one last kiss he stepped into the Floo, leaving Draco lying on the sofa with a soppy grin on his face.


	17. Lotus Cottage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco are going to visit some old classmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 17: Pile of presents

At six o'clock the following evening, Draco stepped out of the fireplace onto the hearth rug in Harry's quarters at Hogwarts. He had spent the previous two hours trying to decide what to wear, and was not entirely comfortable with his final choice, but had decided that if Harry thought it was inappropriate then he could always dash back and change.

When Harry appeared, though, alerted by his name being called, he stopped and stared. "Wow," he said, and came a few steps closer. "Wow," he said again.

"I can't tell whether that's a good wow or a bad wow," Draco admitted. "Is it a bit too much? I can go home and change..."

"Don't you dare!" said Harry. "You look amazing! I just never expected to see you wearing red."

"I thought it might be a sort of olive branch," said Draco, leaning forward to give Harry a brief kiss. "I didn't think of that until I'd already changed my entire outfit several times, though. And by that point the red suit was the only one left in the wardrobe, and it struck me that it might be fun to try. I'm not convinced it works, though - do you really think it looks OK?"

"It looks FABULOUS," Harry assured him. "And I like that you're not wearing a tie. It'd be too formal for tonight otherwise, but the open-necked shirt is perfect."

"I did try a few colours, but white seemed to work best," said Draco. "I've brought them a bottle of Baileys, do you think that will be OK?"

Harry grinned and kissed his forehead. "Bless you, you didn't need to bring anything, but they'll love that. Thank you for making such an effort."

"It's important to me that they... well, that they don't hate me, if I'm being entirely accurate. I know you said they don't, but it still seems quite unlikely."

"Draco, they're going to love you, I'm positive," said Harry. "And when I told them I was bringing you, their reaction was exactly as I expected."

"Which was what?"

"Hermione squealed and came through the Floo to fling her arms round me. Ron teased me for at least ten minutes, but when he'd got it out of his system he shook my hand and said 'it's about time'."

Draco was so surprised by this that he couldn't think of anything to say. "You can close your mouth now," said Harry, laughing. "Come and see for yourself! Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," said Draco, and took Harry's arm.

"Lotus Cottage," said Harry, flinging a handful of Floo powder into the fire. They both stepped through, and emerged in a small but cosy-looking room. There were bookcases on all four walls, and a Christmas tree in the corner with a pile of presents underneath. 

"WE'RE HERE," shouted Harry, and squeezed Draco's hand. Moments later, Hermione entered the room, looking slightly breathless. 

"Wow," she said, staring at them. "Wait till Ron sees you! You both look amazing, but even more so together! Come in, come in. Draco, welcome to our home. We're so pleased Harry wanted to bring you."

"Thank you," said Draco. "I'm very pleased to be here. May I offer you a little something to mark the occasion?" He handed over the bottle.

Hermione smiled and took it from him, shaking his hand and kissing him on the cheek. "Good choice," she commented. "Can't go wrong with Baileys. Thank you. Do you want to come through? Ron's just finishing off the cooking."

She set off back through the house, and Draco and Harry obediently followed her. "RON, DRACO'S BROUGHT BAILEYS, AND WAIT TILL YOU SEE WHAT HE'S WEARING!" she yelled as she walked.


	18. In the kitchen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is lots of food, and a bit of nostalgia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 18: Mulled wine

In the kitchen, it appeared at first glance as if every available surface was covered in food. There were several trays of gingerbread men with snowman icing, a huge dish of roast potatoes, smaller bowls of peas and carrots and Brussels sprouts, trays of Yorkshire puddings, and several jugs containing gravy and other sauces. The table in the middle of the room was dominated by a very large roasted turkey, which Ron was in the middle of carving. He looked up as they entered.

"Bloody hell," he said. "Malfoy's wearing red. And Harry's wearing green. Either you two are already at the sharing-clothes stage or the world really _has_ changed. Malfoy, it's good to see you. Have a seat. And Harry, I'm only joking about sharing clothes, you know that, right? You wouldn't look half as good in that suit as he does."

"I love you too," said Harry wryly. "Now would you mind waving that knife somewhere else before we sit down, please? Draco's already scared you might try to kill him."

Draco rolled his eyes at Harry, and sat down on the nearest chair. "Please ignore him," he said to Ron. "It was the tiniest twinge of anxiety that you might remember how obnoxious I used to be, rather than an actual fear for my life. I'm very grateful to both of you for overlooking the past and giving me a chance. And please, call me Draco. Malfoy reminds me of the boy who got hit in the face by your wife."

Ron laughed. "Bloody hell, I'd forgotten about that! It was brilliant."

Hermione sat down next to Draco. "Not that I usually condone violence, but I have to admit that it was very satisfying at the time," she said. "Sorry, though. It was wrong of me. Can I offer you some mulled wine?" She lifted a decanter and waved it enticingly.

Draco laughed. "Mulled wine in return for being smacked in the face? Seems fair enough," he said, lifting a glass to be filled. "But honestly, I'd forgotten about it, until Ron called me Malfoy. There were so many worse things that happened after that, it seems quite innocuous in comparison."

"I guess you're right," said Harry, joining them at the table. "But let's talk about more cheerful things, shall we? Such as why we're having turkey? Christmas isn't till next week!"

"Are you saying you don't like turkey?" demanded Ron, brandishing the carving knife.

"Not at all!" cried Harry, raising his hands in surrender. "I was just surprised."

"Well, we're having turkey again next week, obviously," said Ron, mollified. "But I got a bit carried away getting ready for Christmas and I bought the turkey too early by mistake. It'll be past its best by then. So I thought I'd cook it tonight and get another one afterwards. I love turkey, anyway."

"I do too, and I haven't had it in months, so thank you," said Draco. "It all looks amazing. And smells great too! Although I'm a bit confused about the Yorkshire puddings... aren't they supposed to go with beef?"

"That's what I always tell him," said Hermione. "But he always just says he likes Yorkshire puddings and there's no law against it."

"Exactly," said Ron. "If you don't want any, all the more for me! But never mind that. Harry tells us you're helping him with this Quidditch World Cup thing. We've been trying to do that for a while but haven't got anywhere. What's your plan?"


	19. At the kitchen table

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco sees things very clearly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 19: The London Eye

"As far as I can see there's only one strategy that's going to work," Draco told them. "But it seems... forgive me, but it seems so obvious that I would have presumed one of you would already have suggested it."

"Please don't apologise," Hermione said. "If you've come up with a solution that we haven't thought of, I'm willing to grovel at your feet. This has been killing Harry... but I think you know that. And I've been thinking for a while that maybe fresh eyes on the problem are what's needed."

"I feel a bit of an idiot being the cause of all this worry," Harry admitted. "But I really am grateful to all of you for trying to help, even if it ends up not working."

"Well, you know what I think," Ron chimed in. "They need you more than you need them. Just tell them to shove it."

"And I've explained time and time again why I can't just do that," said Harry quietly. "I don't think you're listening."

"Of course I'm bloody listening, it's you that won't..."

"IF I MAY," interrupted Draco loudly, "I have an observation."

The other three turned to look at him, and he put his glass down while he chose his words carefully. "The three of you know each other better than probably any other group of friends. You've been through so much together that you're bound to. But I think that's led you to always react the same way when there's a problem to sort out, and it's almost like muscle memory," said Draco, conscious of their gazes on him. "I suspect you're unconsciously going back to how you behaved during the war. Harry believes he has to do something because it's the right thing to do, and he believes so strongly that he can't be dissuaded. Ron believes in telling it like it is, and if someone he loves has a problem then he wants that problem to be ended by any means possible. And Hermione wants to find a sensible and logical solution, but she also doesn't want either of you to be hurt in the process, so that limits what can be done."

After a moment, Hermione spoke. "That... makes a lot of sense, actually. But I still can't see how to fix it." Harry and Ron nodded.

"Well, here's the thing," said Draco. "There's an important difference between this situation and the situation you were in during the war... and that difference is the war itself. Back then, you were reacting to what was happening, and there wasn't much you could do about it... well, you know, until the end, when you _actually saved the bloody world_. But the situation you're in now isn't a war... it's a load of politicians making decisions without thinking about the consequences."

They stared at him, and then Hermione grinned and leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. "Oy!" exclaimed Ron.

"Oh, shush, Ron," she said. "Draco is a genius. Not just for thinking of the solution, but for working out why _we_ didn't think of it. Thank you, Draco."

Harry was looking as baffled as Ron. "Not that I'm not grateful, but I'd love to know what I'm grateful _for_ ," he said. "Please will someone explain it it me in short words?"

Draco smiled. "The next press conference is by the Thames in front of the London Eye next week, correct?" Harry nodded. "And," Draco went on, "when that was arranged, which part of the plan do you think they did first?"

Harry stared at him, but it was Ron that caught on first. "Ohhhhhh, I see what you mean!" he said. "They probably picked a date and then contacted the London Eye to see if it could be made available that day. And if it couldn't, they probably tried other dates until they found one that would work. And then after it was all sorted out, they told you when to turn up, and you never say no."

"Correct," said Draco. "So, Harry, my thought is this: if they need you so badly, why don't they ask you _first_?"


	20. At the kitchen table, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is loved but embarrassed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 20: Christmas cracker

Harry looked uncertain. "But... I'm not that important. They would never do that... would they? It's kind of embarrassing to think they might. They're... you know, they run the wizarding world, and I'm just... well, I'm just Harry. ... Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"You see what we have to put up with, Draco?" said Hermione, still with the fond but exasperated smile on her face.

"I do," said Draco, grinning. "I'd assumed this was the case, but hadn't realised it'd be quite this bad."

"Oy!" protested Harry. 

Ron rolled his eyes. "Draco, good luck. If you can make any progress, I'll be very impressed."

Draco took a deep breath. "Right," he said determinedly, and took Harry's hand in his, ignoring Hermione's excited clapping and Ron's "huh!"

"The fact that you _are_ 'just Harry' is what makes everyone love you, present company included," he said, fixing Harry with his gaze. "But there is a lot more to you than that, such as the fact that you inspire feelings of hope and optimism with your very presence, because everyone knows that someone normal actually saved the world mainly by determination and bravery and inspiring those around him to be as good as he is. Your magical ability was only a tiny part of it. So I think you make people feel as if anything is possible and that maybe one day _they_ might do something amazing. And there is literally no-one else in the world right now who has that effect on people. So that's why the Ministry is so desperate to have you as their spokesperson, because you are literally irreplaceable, and they know that. None of the other countries bidding have a Harry, and it's quite likely that you'll be the difference between them winning the bid and losing it, because apart from the Harry factor all the bids are much of a muchness. So the least they can do is to make plans with you at the centre, rather than as an afterthought. I mean, you still haven't really got time to do it at all, but given that I know you do want to, it'd at least be slightly easier if the events were at times that work better for you."

Ron and Hermione burst into applause as Draco finished speaking, but he kept his eyes fixed on Harry, who was blushing.

"I think that might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," he said, eventually. "I'm not sure I'm _quite_ as amazing as you make me sound, but I'm grateful to you for saying it."

"I am certain that Ron and Hermione, as well as all your other friends and no doubt their families too, will have said many even nicer things to you over the last few years," Draco told him. "My words only seem nicer at first because they're probably more unexpected. But I do still mean them."

Harry leaned forward and kissed him thoroughly, stopping only when Ron said: "Delightful as this is to see, we still have all this food to eat, and warming charms aren't quite as good as eating it while it's still hot from the oven. So let's eat, and then later we can fine-tune the plan."

"Project Firstborn," Draco added helpfully, sitting back and tidying his hair. 

"... I'm not sure I want to know, but I need to," said Hermione. "But Ron's right, let's eat. Oh wait, we haven't set out the crackers!" She leapt up and took a box from the cupboard, reaching inside and giving three Christmas crackers to each of them.

"Why three?" asked Harry. "Oh, wait, I know. Good call. I like the idea of us all pulling a cracker with everyone. I'm doing Draco first though, if that's OK."

"As long as you just mean pulling his cracker," said Ron.


	21. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's feeling calm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 21: Clothes drying near a Christmas tree
> 
> Really short because I had a situation tonight that only left me with ten minutes to update... but the next part will follow within an hour, I promise!

Later that night, Harry was undressing for bed, much earlier than he usually did, but also feeling pleasantly calm. He put his outer layers out to dry (they'd all gone out for a snowball fight after eating, and had all ended up soaked to the skin but giggling; Draco had told him that the wool would retain its softness better if it dried naturally).

All of a sudden he remembered something he'd meant to do before going to sleep, and reached for his wand. "Expecto Patronum," he said, and when the silvery stag appeared he said: "Go and find Seamus and ask him if he can come here for a few minutes, please. Nothing bad, I just have a favour to ask him." The stag turned round and galloped through the wall.


	22. In the bedroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Seamus make a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 22: Snowy Diagon Alley

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and Harry opened it to find Seamus leaning on the doorpost and grinning at him. "You've got me dying of curiosity, I have to say, mate," said Seamus. "Will this be quick, though? Because I need to sleep soon. Not all of us can operate on only a few hours' sleep every night like you can."

"I'm trying to be better about that," Harry told him. "In fact, you'll notice that I'm in my pyjamas? I was about to go to bed, but then I remembered I wanted to ask you something."

Seamus tilted his head looked at him. "You know what? We've known each other for, what, thirteen years? And in all that time I don't think I can _ever_ remember you asking me for anything. Colour me intrigued."

"Well, OK." Harry took a deep breath. "You might have noticed that I haven't been around much this week, apart from during lessons?"

"Must be an R in the month," said Seamus. Then, off Harry's look, "What? You're hardly ever around! You're either teaching or off prostituting yourself for the bloody Ministry. You're certainly not doing anything sensible like... oh, I don't know, sleeping or eating properly. And I _know_ I've tried to talk to you about this before, but you didn't seem to be paying much attention."

Harry grimaced. "Yes, I'm sorry about that," he said. "If it's any consolation, I did tell someone a couple of days ago that you once tried to tell me I was being an idiot about this."

"Someone? Or Draco Malfoy?"

Harry's jaw dropped open, but then he remembered the last time he'd talked to any of his colleagues. "Padma told you," he said. 

"Of course Padma bloody well told me. I don't know if you've noticed, Harry, but people tend to talk about you, and that's even _without_ any news as surprising as this. Draco Malfoy, eh? I take it he's less... unpleasant than he used to be? I can't imagine you'd be getting on so well with him if not."

"He's great, actually," said Harry, slightly shocked to realise how much he meant it. "I've spent quite a bit of time with him this week, and we're getting on really well. In fact, he's been really helpful, and it's mainly because of him that I think I might be able to improve my deal with the Ministry."

Seamus nodded. "Have you shagged him yet?" he asked, grinning.

Harry gasped. "Bloody hell, Seamus! It's only been a few days! No, I have not."

"But you want to, right? ... Don't look at me like that! You've been on your own for a long time, and this is _Malfoy_. We all know how long you've been obsessed with him."

"He prefers to be called Draco now," said Harry mildly. Seamus barked a laugh. "And, if it'll shut you up," Harry went on, "erm, I haven't shagged him. But I _have_ kissed him quite a lot."

Seamus held up his hand, and after a moment Harry reluctantly high-fived him. "I'm proud of you, mate," said Seamus. "About time. Now, I'm going to want updates on the progress of your relationship, obviously - I've been on my own for a while as well, so I have to live vicariously - but I still need to sleep ASAP... so, what's this favour you need?"

"Well, it's do to with Draco," began Harry.

"Of course it is," said Seamus, nodding. Harry rolled his eyes.

"He told me that he hasn't been out in the wizarding world in years, because he doesn't want any trouble, and he thinks people won't want to see him. But he's a different person to who he used to be, and I want to help him show people that. So I want to bring him to Diagon Alley."

"OK," said Seamus, "that sounds great, but I don't see where I come in?"

"Well, I was thinking about it tonight while we were eating - Hermione and Ron say hello, by the way - and I realised that if we just turn up and start wandering around the shops, at best we'll just get a load of people staring at us, and at worst someone will say or do something nasty and I'll have to step in and then there'll be a _situation_ , which is not what I want. And it occurred to me that if there was something _else_ for people to stare at, and Draco and I just happened to be there at the same time but not as interesting as whatever else was going on, it'd be a good way of easing him back into the public consciousness. Then, next time we're there, it won't be a novelty."

Seamus grinned. "Ohhhh, I see," he said. "At least I think I do. You want me to create a spectacle of some sort in Diagon Alley? Maybe... some sort of pyrotechnic event?"

"Got it in one," said Harry, beaming. "What d'you think? Would it be easy to do?"

"Try and stop me," Seamus told him. "I haven't done anything like that since Bonfire Night, and that was almost two months ago. It'll be fun! Also, if Diagon Alley is still covered in snow, the fireworks will look even better. I'm picturing a selection of blues and purples. Very different from the reds and oranges on Bonfire Night. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," Harry told him. "But all your displays are always amazing, so you sprang to mind immediately when I was trying to think of a distraction."

"Well, thank you very much! I'm pleased you like them. When do you want to do this, by the way? Soon, I presume?"

"I mean, yes, ideally, but that's only because I'm keen," said Harry. "There's no specific date it needs to be. So it depends on you, really."

"OK, no problem," said Seamus. "How about this Sunday afternoon? That way, I can spend Saturday sorting it all out. It won't take longer than that."

Harry looked concerned. "I don't want you spending all your free time on something for me," he protested.

Seamus laughed. "Of course you don't, because you never expect anyone to do anything for you," he said. "But I will just point out that this is something I _love_ doing. And even if it wasn't, I'd be happy to do it for you. The fact that I like it is just a bonus."

"Well, if you insist," said Harry, but he was smiling. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not a thing," Seamus told him. "In fact, I'll get a few of my NEWT students to help. It'll be good for them. All I need from you is for you to be there at the right moment... I'll work out the timings and tell you exactly when to be where. And then, afterwards, I may need to get drunk with you so you can tell me about the shag you're definitely getting out of this."


	23. Vienna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco go on a date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 23: Skating rink

Draco weaved his way through the bustling Austrian Christmas market, muttering "es tut mir leid!" every time someone bumped into him and being quietly amused at the Britishness of apologising for something that wasn't his fault. He could see the brightly-lit ice rink just up ahead, and wondered (not for the first time) why Harry had asked to meet him here. 

He reached the rink and saw Harry standing slightly apart from the queue, apparently looking for him. Draco took a moment to take in the sight before Harry noticed him; the man was wearing slightly-scruffy-looking jeans and a long dark woollen coat, with a Gryffindor scarf wrapped thoroughly round his neck and covering his mouth and chin. He was probably still cold, because the idiot wasn't wearing a hat, but he looked wonderful with snowflakes in his hair. Draco smiled fondly and approached him.

Harry beamed when he noticed Draco, and flung both arms out to his sides. "THIS MEANS NOTHING TO MEEEEEEEEE!" he sang at the top of his voice in a rough but in-tune baritone, causing most of the nearby people to stare; those that did rolled their eyes and moved on. Draco grinned, enchanted by the twinkle in Harry's eye, and even more so by the way his jaw dropped when Draco also flung out his arms and belted "THIS MEANS NOTHING TO MEEEEEEEEE!"

Harry took hold of both of Draco's hands and they finished the chorus together: "OHHHHHHH, VIENNAAAAAAAAAA!"

After this, they both broke into a fit of giggles, and it was several minutes before they could stop. 

"I am so pleased you know that song," said Harry, wiping his eyes. "But even if you did, I never expected you to sing it!"

"Hey, professional musician now, remember?" Draco reminded him. "I know a lot more Muggle songs than you might expect. I do particularly like that one, though. But please tell me that the reason we're here isn't _just_ so you could sing the song? Not that I mind, but it seems a bit extreme..."

"Haha, no," said Harry. "I just thought of it while I was waiting for you. "Why we're here is... well, mainly because it's a really long time since I was on a proper date, and I am particularly invested in this one going well, so I wanted us to go somewhere memorable. And when I was talking to Viktor Krum at the Moscow thing, he mentioned he'd enjoyed a trip here recently."

"Actually he said the same to me," Draco remembered. "I'd forgotten. It _is_ lovely, though, so thank you. I haven't skated since I was a child. We used to go to the Somerset House rink every Christmas, but then there was... well, you know, and we stopped doing things like that."

"No depressing thoughts today," Harry warned him. "We're going to have fun skating - particularly since I've never done it before and I should've known you would have, so you'll be able to laugh at me when I inevitably fall over a lot - and then I have a surprise for you afterwards. Which I _think_ you'll like, but there are reasons why I'm nervous about it, so I need to make sure you're in the best possible mood first."

"That sounds... intriguing and only _slightly_ worrying," said Draco. "But I trust you. I think. So let's get some skates so that the laughing-at-Potter portion of the day can commence!"


	24. At the rink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has more than one surprise for Draco.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 24: Santa placing presents under the tree

After spending an hour on the rink, Harry was exhausted, and dreaded to think how sweaty he must look - certainly when compared to Draco, who as usual didn't have a hair out of place. He did, however, keep giving Harry _looks_ which suggested that he wasn't too bothered by his probably-red face, which was encouraging. 

Draco wasn't entirely happy, though. "Bloody typical that you'd be a natural at this," he grumbled. "You didn't even fall over once! Where's the fun in that?"

"Only because I had you to grab hold of each time I wobbled," Harry reminded him. "So, thank you! Now, I know you're as keen as me to get back to my quarters so we can continue the, er, conversation we had to postpone the other night - at least I hope so! - but I do have a bit of a surprise for you first."

"A surprise, huh? Sounds intriguing. Lead on. And yes, I _am_ as keen as you, so please stop apologising for the raincheck. If you'll recall, one of the main things we've been talking about recently is how tired you are and what we can do about it, so I'm pleased that you were comfortable enough to say so that night."

"Well, alright," said Harry, guiding Draco towards a giant Christmas tree which had a jolly-looking Santa Claus standing next to it bellowing "ho! ho! ho!" to anyone who came close. The apparition point was well-hidden around the back of the tree, and a minute later they were standing in a small alley. Well, Draco was standing; Harry was bent double and wheezing. "I'll get my breath back in a second," he said. "I really hate doing that."

"Well, you're not supposed to be able to side-along at all over that distance," Draco pointed out. "I think you can be forgiven for it being a strain. Now, are you going to tell me where we are, or is guessing part of the surprise?"

"Oh, the surprise is a bit bigger than that," Harry told him. "See that road up ahead? That's Diagon Alley. And we're going for a stroll."


	25. Diagon Alley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seamus is as good as his word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 25: Mistletoe
> 
> The plan was for this to be the last part, but I'm not quite there and I can't stay awake any longer! So there will be one more part tomorrow.

Draco didn't say anything, and Harry looked up from his bent-over stance to find that Draco's face was hard to decipher. He stood up and peered at him. Annoyed, he decided. Draco definitely looked a bit annoyed.

"Erm, I take it you heard what I said? And you're... not entirely happy about it?" Harry ventured.

Draco sighed. "I mean, I'm not totally UNhappy about it, if I'm totally honest," he said after a moment. "And I kind of knew that after I told you that I hadn't been anywhere in the wizarding world in quite a while, you'd want to try and do something about that. I suppose I'd just hoped I'd have a bit longer before I'd have to deal with it. Are you sure you really want to, though? You know it's going to be awful, right? The best-case scenario is that everyone will stare at us. The worst is that they might throw thing. Or hex us. Or worse."

"Give me a little more credit," Harry told him. "I have a plan! And I think it will work. But I'd just like to remind you that I'm very used to being stared at and, although it's not always pleasant, I find I can ignore it after a while. They soon get bored and move on. As for your more nightmarish scenarios, I'm pretty confident that nobody will dare to do any of those things if I'm standing right next to you. And, who knows - maybe they might not even want to anyway!"

Draco considered this. "Well, I wouldn't be too sure of that last part," he said. "People have very long memories when it comes to people they hate. But I suppose you're right about the effect of _you_ being there. You'll forgive me if I don't think I'll be ready to try it without you any time soon, however well this goes?"

"Of course I will," Harry promised. "But I'm hoping that if my plan works then you might feel comfortable enough to change your mind a bit sooner."

Draco sighed again. "Fine," he said. "Can we get it over with then, please?"

"Any minute now," said Harry. "I'm just waiting for... ah, here it is."

A streak of light shot down the alley towards them, coalescing in front of Harry into a bright silver fox. "Everything's all ready to go," it said quietly, in Seamus's voice. "Don't send your Patronus back unless you want to spoil the surprise - I'm standing right by the Knockturn Alley entrance and there are lots of people around, and everyone knows your stag. Actually, you'd better send it if you're not here yet. But assuming you're at the usual apparition point, I'll watch out for you appearing near Ollivanders in the next few minutes, and I'll start things off exactly two minutes after I first see you. That should give people enough time to notice you before I distract them." 

The fox disintegrated, and Harry grinned. "Right, _now_ we can go," he said. "Come on."

Draco shook his head, but there was a tiny smile on his face. "I don't know exactly what you've arranged, but if that was Finnigan's voice then I might have a tiny inkling," he said. "Maybe this might actually be fun! I do have one last question before we do this, though."

Harry took his hand and held it firmly. "Does this answer it?"

Draco stared at him for a long moment, the tips of his ears growing somewhat pinker, and then smiled and kissed Harry. "Do you know what? I believe it does," he said. "Thank you. I do think this is a lot more than I deserve, but I can tell from your face that you'll argue if I try to refuse, so let's just get on with it, shall we?"

Harry pulled him into a hug for a moment, and then kissed his forehead before setting off towards the main street, pulling Draco with him. He thought could almost hear Draco's heart beating fast, and squeezed his hand supportively. Just as he heard Draco take a long deep breath, they stepped through the gap in the wall near Ollivanders.

Diagon Alley was absolutely packed with people, including a surprisingly large number of Hogwarts students; the shops were not always open on Sunday afternoons, but this close to Christmas the proprietors were keen to encourage people to spend all their money. Harry's attention was immediately drawn to the front of the wand shop, however, where Professor McGonagall was standing talking not only to Mr Ollivander himself but also to Hermione and Ron, who waved when they saw Harry and Draco.

"Goof afternoon, gentlemen," said Mr Ollivander with a small bow, as they approached. "It's a bit cold to be standing outside, but Minerva here tells me I'll miss out on quite a spectacle if I don't."

Harry looked at McGonagall in surprise, and she raised her hands in confession. "Guilty as charged," she said. "And, before you ask, I should warn you that Mr Finnigan's NEWT students are extremely excited, and they have been telling everyone at Hogwarts what's about to happen. Which, I'm afraid, is probably why so many of them are here. If it's any consolation, however, I do not believe that any of them are aware of the _reason_ for the event. Which reminds me: good afternoon, Mr Malfoy. It is good to see you again after all this time. Mr Potter here has been telling me how much you have helped him recently."

"I suspect he is exaggerating, Professor, but thank you," said Draco. "And it's good to see you too."

"I'm not bothered by people knowing," added Harry. "In fact, the more people that are here, the better."

"I think the signs are good so far, Harry," Hermione said. "There _are_ people staring at you, and there's a lot of whispering, but nobody actually looks hostile."

"Ooh look, it's starting!" said Ron. They all turned to see the silver fox darting around the sides of the street and jumping on particular bricks; every time it landed, a sparkling light started spinning round, each one a slightly different shade of blue or purple. 

"They're like Catherine wheels!" Harry exclaimed, and Hermione nodded, but then shushed Ron when he was about to ask what that was. "Watch!" she said.

The fox ran around the doorway of the Leaky Cauldron several times, leaving a rich pattern of the Catherine wheels; next, it raced up the perpendicular bit of the alley towards Gringotts, where it ran up and down each of the pillars in a spiral pattern, leaving lights in place that looked like strings of fairy lights. It came back along the other side of the road and danced over the square panes of the window of Flourish and Blotts, leaving smaller purple and blue Catherine wheels on each pane and a larger one on the door. Finally, it did the same at Ollivanders next door, and finished by bowing to Harry and vanishing.

Until that moment, Harry realised, he'd been right: the people who'd been staring at him holding hands with Draco were now fascinated by the antics of the Patronus. Now they were all looking at him again, but a moment later a silver tiger raced from the far end of the alley and stopped in the centre outside the Leaky Cauldron.

"That one's Padma's," Harry whispered to Draco, as the tiger bellowed: "THREE! TWO! ONE! WATCH THIS!"

Each of the Catherine wheels stopped spinning and seemed to explode, one after another in a rhythmic sequence. Each of them produced a shower of brightly-coloured sparks which persisted some time after the explosion, and when the sparks had died away there was a message left on the wall in sparkly blue and purple writing. It said "Welcome back, Draco!" 

Ron, grinning like a loon, held up a sprig of mistletoe that he'd been concealing who-knew-where, and Harry pulled Draco towards him and kissed him.


	26. Ollivanders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are resolved!

Draco allowed the kiss to continue for a couple of minutes before he pulled away (he realised that he'd been a bit too enthusiastic about it to convince Harry that he was even slightly angry, but felt that he needed to make the point). "Not that I don't appreciate the thought," he murmured, "but don't you think this might have been a _little_ over the top?"

Harry scratched his forehead, still holding Draco's hand with his other hand. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said ruefully. "I asked Seamus to create a distraction so people would have something other than us to stare at. I didn't know he was going to actually put your name in it."

Draco decided he was in a benevolent mood, and took pity on him. "Well, if I'd know about that part before, I think I would have been appalled," he said, "but in fact it doesn't seem to have upset anyone nearly as much as I might have expected."

This did appear to be true: a few people were still standing and staring at them, but they seemed excited rather than hostile, and the majority of the shoppers had already lost interest and were going about their business again.

"An interesting strategy," commented Professor McGonagall from behind them. As they turned to face her, she went on: "I don't think I would have thought of it myself, but it seems to have achieved the desired objective. I trust you will reward Mr Finnigan and his students appropriately."

"And me!" said Padma as she joined the group and smacked Harry's shoulder. "I get why you asked Seamus instead of me, Harry - he _is_ the pyrotechnic king after all - but I can't believe you didn't even tell me at all! Luckily Seamus needed another strong Patronus or I'd have missed it!"

"Sorry about that," said Harry. "I'd've told you if I'd've seen you, but... well, you know how it is."

"I do. Hopefully not for much longer, though, eh?" said Padma. "Seamus tells me Draco has a plan?"

"Yes, and I am quite uncomfortable with it, but I have been persuaded that it makes sense," Harry said. "When I have all these three ganging up on me, it's hard to say no."

"Never thought I'd be in a threesome with Draco bloody Malfoy, but times have changed, haven't they?" said Ron. He winked at Draco, and Draco was privately amused when he caused Ron's jaw to drop by winking back.

"Oh look, here's Seamus," said Hermione, and they all turned. Seamus was a few feet away, in the middle of a crowd of older teenagers; after a few more seconds of apparent instructions, the students all peeled off in various directions, and Seamus approached. 

"How was that?" he said, putting an arm round both Harry and Draco. "Did you like it? More importantly, did it work?"

"It was amazing! Well done, mate!" said Ron.

"Yes, it was even better than what I had in mind, thank you," Harry told him, smiling. "Although the lettering was maybe be bit much."

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Seamus. "The kids had lots of really good ideas, and one of them was a way to spell out a message, so they wanted to know what message to use, and they were so excited that I didn't have the heart to tell them you wouldn't want a message, and that one seemed the most appropriate. It didn't spoil it too much, did it?"

He was looking at Harry, but it was Draco who answered. "It was fine, don't worry," he said. "I must admit that I was a bit shocked at first, but not as shocked as I am at the fact that people don't seem too bothered by me being here. I mean, I suspect it will still be a while before I'll dare to come without Harry, but I'm grateful to you both for showing me that it's not as bad as I thought it would be."

"I did hear a few people saying _he's KISSING him_ as I was walking up," Padma told them, "but they just seemed surprised rather than... well, you know, disgusted or anything. So I think it'll be fine."

"As it should be," intoned Mr Ollivander, who had been standing silently watching. "Mr Malfoy was always kind to me when I was imprisoned at the Manor, and he and Miss Lovegood both tried their best to heal me every time I was mistreated. I have not spoken often about those days, but there are enough people that _do_ know what he did that I would be disappointed if there was still a negative opinion of him."

Draco stared at him, speechless. Harry leaned forward to shake the old wandmaker's hand, and after a moment Draco followed suit. "Thank you," he said. "I am so sorry about what happened to you. I wish I could have done more."

"You did all that you could, and considerably more than I had expected you to," Mr Ollivander assured him. "And I always thought it quite fitting that it was your wand that ended the war. Hawthorn and unicorn hair. Ten inches precisely. Reasonably springy. I never heard what became of it, though; did you ever get it back?"

"Yes, Harry returned it to me after my trial," Draco said, causing several heads to snap up in surprise; it looked as if Harry had not told them this. "I was very surprised but also very grateful, as you can probably imagine. I had not yet had a chance to obtain a replacement, and was struggling to manage without one."

"And how did you find it, when it was back in your possession, if I may ask?" wondered Mr Ollivander.

"Much to my surprise, it actually felt a little more powerful than I remembered," said Draco. "I'm interested to know whether you would have expected that?"

Mr Ollivander raised his eyebrows. "I must admit I would not," he said after a few moments. "Usually a wand that has been taken by force is never quite the same if it is reacquired. At best, I might have expected that its behaviour would be unchanged. I confess I have never heard of one that grew in power."

"Maybe I imagined it," said Draco, embarrassed. "It had been quite a while since I'd last used it. Maybe I'd just forgotten what it felt like."

"I suspect we will never know the truth," said Professor McGonagall, "but, if I may, I do have an alternative theory. Perhaps the good that was done with that wand was responsible? I imagine that most wands that are seized are not then put to non-criminal uses."

"That would make sense," said Hermione thoughtfully. "But also most wands that are seized are not subsequently willingly returned by the person who seized them, or with such good wishes. I mean, I didn't actually know that Harry had returned it at all, but I'm willing to bet that you thanked Draco for its use and were happy to return it to him?"

"Erm, I think so," said Harry, who was looking quite uncomfortable. "But I'm sure it wasn't anything to do with me that caused it to get more powerful. I only did what most people would have done."

Draco laughed out loud, and after a moment the others joined in. "Harry, dearest, I know you would like to believe that that's true, but we can all list any number of amazing things that you've done that _nobody_ else would have done," he said.

"Indeed," said Mr Ollivander, who was laughing as much as the others. "And, as Professor McGonagall says, we may never know the truth. But my educated guess would be that it is a combination of her theory and that of Mrs Granger-Weasley. It is an intriguing puzzle, and one to which I will give much thought. In the meantime, however, I do have a shop to run, so I will take my leave of you. Good day to you all." 

He bowed to them and went inside the shop, leaving them all in a slightly uncomfortable silence, which was eventually broken by Seamus. "Come on! Come on! Hurry up, Harry, come on!" he sang unexpectedly. Draco stared at him, but noticed that all the others (including Professor McGonagall) were rolling their eyes.

"Come on! Come on! Hurry up, Harry, come on!" Ron joined in (in _almost_ the same key), looking expectantly at Harry. 

Harry grinned at Draco, his head tilted to one side in an obvious challenge.

Draco rolled his eyes. Did they really think he wouldn't know this? Pfft. "WE'RE GOING DOWN THE PUB!" he sang in an almost operatic tenor voice. 

There was a silence in which they all gaped at him, and then Professor McGonagall smiled fondly at them as her ex-students all bellowed "WE'RE GOING DOWN THE PUB!"

As they all collapsed in giggles, Professor McGonagall said, "Much as I might enjoy joining you, I must get back to the castle. But I must congratulate you on your display, Mr Finnigan - and I will be sure to do the same to the students involved, of course - and you on having the idea, Mr Potter. I believe it has had the desired effect. And as for you, Mr Malfoy, you may be interested to hear that I happened to notice Kingsley Shacklebolt and Oliver Wood going into the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes ago, and so it may be possible for you to kill two birds with one stone. I must say that as Mr Potter's employer I will be extremely grateful if your idea to help him is successful. In the meantime, I wish you well, and I hope we will see you at Hogwarts very soon."

"Thank you, Professor," said Draco, bowing to her and trying not to think about how pink his face must be. "I hope so too." She nodded with a smile, Apparated, and was gone.

"Do you really think we should approach them in the pub, though?" Hermione wondered. "It seems a bit informal for such a big discussion. Plus, I don't think we should do it as a group. What do you think, Draco?"

"I agree," he said, relieved that he hadn't had to be the one to point this out. "No offence, but I feel it would be better if it's just me and Harry. And definitely not in the pub... but I think it wouldn't hurt to have a drink with them. Then they might be feeling a bit more friendly, and we can request a formal meeting afterwards."

"You're forgetting that Oliver already knows about the issue," Harry pointed out, "and he said to leave it with him. So it may be that they'll mention it first. Assuming he's already told Kingsley, of course."

"I _had_ forgotten that," admitted Draco. "Right, then, how about this: if they mention it first, we'll ask if we can talk about it in private... ideally immediately, because we don't want them putting it off any longer. I suppose we could use a room at the Leaky, but it might be better if we ask to go to Kingsley's office so it's properly formal."

"And if they don't mention it, maybe you and I can have a quiet word with Oliver to find out what he's done about it, and then follow Plan A unless his answer means we can't?" continued Harry.

"That all sounds sensible," said Hermione. "You _will_ tell me how you get on, though, won't you? Straight away?"

"Of course they will," Ron told her. "But first, drinks! Harry, you're buying. WE'RE GOING DOWN THE PUB!"

He linked arms with Hermione and Harry, and within seconds the six of them were striding along Diagon Alley towards the Leaky Cauldron in a "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"-type formation, giggling like school children.

\---

Late that night, Draco and Harry were both sprawled across Harry's four-poster bed at Hogwarts, naked and breathless. "That was..." panted Draco.

"... worth waiting for," panted Harry. "Let's not wait too long before doing it again."

"Let's not," agreed Draco. "It's been quite a long time since I did that. And, amazing as it was, I can't help thinking it will get even better with practice."

"I'm definitely up for that," Harry said. 

Draco lifted his head and looked. "So I see," he said dryly. Harry laughed.

"What can I say, I've got the hottest person in existence lying naked next to me," he pointed out. "And not only that, but he's the person who's been in my wank fantasies since I was sixteen years old. It turns out that it has a definite effect on my refractory period."

"Sixteen-year-old me would be quite startled that you knew that phrase, but then again sixteen-year-old me had already been wanking to thoughts of _you_ for at least a year, so he'd also be giddy with delight that his feelings were reciprocated," Draco told him.

Harry rolled over onto his side and pulled Draco towards him. "I didn't know that," he said, sounding awed. "Just think of all the time we've wasted! We could have been doing this years ago!"

"We're as bad as each other," Draco agreed. "But the important thing is that there's nothing stopping us doing it _now_. And, after our chat with Kingsley, it should be much easier to find _time_ to do it."

"I can never thank you enough for that," said Harry, holding Draco more closely and speaking into his ear. "It was so much easier than I expected."

"I hardly did anything," Draco protested. "Kingsley's a good man. Oliver too, for that matter. What made the biggest difference was what you said to them in Moscow. They'd obviously talked about it quite a bit since then, and I think they were feeling bad that things had got to that stage. They wanted to help - they just hadn't thought of a way to do it."

"Which is why I'm thanking you," Harry said. "You were the one who talked me into mentioning it in the first place. And you were the one who came up with the solution."

"It wasn't exactly a difficult solution," said Draco, feeling oddly defensive.

"Maybe not," said Harry, "but the fact remains that nobody else had thought of it... including Hermione, and believe me, she's tried! Actually I'm quite amused at how she's been this week - she's alternated between being madly impressed with you and furious with herself for not seeing it. Which reminds me: you were also the one who worked out why she and Ron couldn't solve the problem."

"Well, when you put it like that, I suppose I'd better just bask in the glory of my accomplishments," said Draco, rolling onto his back again and pulling Harry on top of him. This caused Harry to kiss him thoroughly, and it was several minutes before he added, "or I could demand payment, of course. But I'm doing OK financially at the moment. So maybe I should request a service instead. Use of your body, for example? That seems appropriate."

"Hmm, there's only one problem with that, as far as I can see," said Harry, reaching down to stroke Draco's cock. "There's no way I'm ever going to refuse anything you ask. So within a very short time we'll be back where we started, with me not getting any sleep, in between teaching and much-less-frequent Quidditch World Cup events and as-frequent-as-possible naked times with you."

"I am delighted that you are finally thinking things through," Draco informed him, writhing delightedly under Harry's ministrations. "I'm already thinking of ways to use this as both a perfect reward-based time management strategy _and_ a way of keeping us both with perpetual grins on our faces."

"I like the way you're thinking," said Harry solemnly. "But I do feel we need to explore all the options first, so we can agree which rewards will work best. For example, I've fucked you, and I can confirm that that reward will work _very _well. But maybe I might like it even better if you were to fuck _me_."__

__"That is a very good point," agreed Draco. "Luckily for you, I am very invested in helping you, and am therefore agreeable to your request. Primarily in the name of science, of course. I feel there may need to be a spreadsheet of some form. But first... I'd be grateful if you would indulge my newfound kink, and do some of your sexy wandless magic, please."_ _

__Harry grinned. "Accio lube!" he said, and caught the jar when it flew into his hand._ _

__"I love it when a plan comes together," said Draco breathlessly, and then his mouth was too busy to speak._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you have never encountered this song: [Hurry Up Harry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbcONYzM7jQ) (Seamus and Ron heard it on a jukebox in a Muggle pub once, and have teased Harry about its existence ever since!)


End file.
